Don't Believe the Hype

Restaurateurs, manufacturers, and fundamentalist Christian men all convened in Chicago during 1996. None of them got the publicity that the Clinton coronation received, even though the city didn't have to pay any of the other conventions to come here. As the list below shows, the DNC didn't even crack the top ten for attendance.

1. International Manufacturing Technology Show 121,601

2. National Restaurant Association 103,457

3. National Sporting Goods Association 94,166

4. Softbank Comdex--Spring 92,794

5. Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute 80,000

6. National Hardware Show 70,000

7. Promise Keepers (the Christian men) 69,000

8. Design Engineering Show and Conference--

National Manufacturing 65,000

9. National Housewares Manufacturers Association 58,917

10. Radiological Society of North America 56,000

17. Democratic National Convention 35,000*

*Even this number is suspect. The delegates themselves numbered only 4,320 and accredited media another 15,000.